Slices of Life in Viewfinder
by appleslovetea
Summary: Series of one-shots featuring Asami and Akihito. One-shot IV is up.
1. I

**A/N:** I really like 'Slices of Life' types of fanfics and I think there is so much about the daily lives of the Viewfinder characters worth exploring that I thought I'd try my luck at writing a few one-shots of the type. Hope you enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Viewfinder or its characters, because if I did, Asami would not be allowed to wear clothes... ever XP

**I.**

* * *

Akihito eyed the kitchen's wall clock for the hundredth time that evening.

"…There's still time. You can do it Akihito, come on, you still have time." He said out loud, wiping away the flour residue staining his cheeks with the back of his sleeve.

He had been cooking and baking non-stop for 4 hours now, the results of his hard work already on display on the living room's dining table, save for the cake which he was currently finishing decorating.

Of course, it wasn't just any cake… It was a devil's food cake; Asami's favorite. And Akihito was busy decorating it with chocolate sprinkles so it read on top 'Happy Birthday Asami!'.

The fact he'd managed to find out that today was Asami's birthday had been a complete accident though.

It was Asami's assistant who had let him know that morning, when he stopped by the apartment to collect some documents that Asami had left behind by accident.

Akihito was finishing his breakfast at the time, and as the assistant knew quite well his way around the house, he just let him roam around unattended.

"Oh, by the way." The assistant said, while storing the documents in his briefcase. "The surprise dinner party for Asami-sama is this evening at club Dracaena, so don't expect him back before midnight."

"Huh? !... Surprise dinner party?" Akihito asked confused.

"Yes, for Asami-sama's birthday." The other man retorted, as if it was common knowledge. "Don't tell me you didn't know it was Asami-sama's birthday today?"

"O-Of course I did." Akihito smiled nervously.

He was lying though. He really had no idea, and as much as he'd afterwards tried to think of any changes in Asami's behavior over the past few days that might have ended up giving him a clue of the fact, he couldn't think of anything. Asami had acted as his usual self all throughout.

Even during that same morning, as he and Akihito had woken up in the same bed in a tangle of limbs and wrinkled sheets and Asami had dragged the younger man along with him to the bathroom so that they could take their morning shower together (…despite Akihito's many protests!), he hadn't acted as if there was anything special about that day at all.

Now knowing the truth though, Akihito wouldn't let the occasion go by without some sort of celebration. So he had spent his entire day at work figuring out what he'd cook for Asami; barely focusing his attention on the fashion photo-shoot he had been hired to perform.

It wasn't long before he settled on homemade yakisoba, which he knew was Asami's favorite dish, and a devil's food birthday cake.

He figured that even though Asami would be attending the dinner party later on, he would most likely not eat much, since he was used to having dinner much later in the evening, so it would be nice to return home and find a special meal cooked just for him.

So after Akihito had finished work for the day, he stopped by the local grocery shop near Asami's apartment complex to purchase all the ingredients he would need.

He was already on his way home with the groceries, when walking past a stationary shop something on the store front's display window caught his attention.

It was a medium size leather organizer, nothing fancy, an item more practical than anything, but as soon as Akihito's eyes fell on it, he immediately thought of Asami.

For a while now, Akihito had been debating with the idea of suggesting to Asami for him to get one. The man was notorious for leaving his paperwork scattered around the house after all, and on more than one occasion had been forced to send his assistant to the apartment to fish around for some important document he'd left behind.

Maybe if he had an organizer, where he could keep all of his most important paperwork, it would save him a lot of trouble.

Akihito shortened his distance to the display window, eyeing the price tag on the organizer.

Sure, the thing wasn't hugely expensive, but on Akihito's budget, buying it would mean that he'd have to go on a soup diet until his next pay check.

He bit his lower lip, eyeing the article, as if to decide whether or not to purchase it, but before he could stop himself, his feet acted on their own accord, dragging him inside the shop.

* * *

Akihito eyed the fancy wrapping paper and bow hiding the organizer from view as he placed the decorated birthday cake on the dining room's table. The shop owner had really outdone himself when wrapping it. Whoever saw the gift wrapping would probably think it was hiding a really expensive present.

He didn't want Asami to notice the present as soon as he first entered the room though, so Akihito picked it up from the table and hid it behind one the couch's pillows, intent on pulling out of its hiding place after he arrived.

As he did so, he caught sight of himself in the living room's standing mirror and couldn't help but grimace at his own reflection.

He looked like a mess.

There were chocolate and sauce stains on his t-shirt and his face and arms were smudged with cake batter; he even had flower dust on his hair.

He went back to the kitchen to peek at the clock again. 25 minutes to midnight. "Great! I still have time for a quick shower before he gets here." He thought, undressing on his way to the bathroom.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, feeling clean and refreshed, Akihito stepped out of the shower, putting on a clean pair of boxers and a tank top. He was on his way to his bedroom, towel still on his head, when passing through the living room, the scene in front of him made him freeze.

Asami was standing by the dining room table, eyeing the birthday cake as if it was some kind of unknown foreign object.

"Ha, you're home early!... Your assistant said you wouldn't be here until after midnight." Akihito said, somewhat disappointed. He had been hoping to greet Asami as he first arrived.

Asami looked from the cake, to Akihito, back to the cake. "Did you...?" He asked, looking at the young man once again, while pointing to the cake.

Akihito felt his cheeks burn, despite himself. "Happy Birthday!... It's a devil's food cake. I hope you like it."

Asami still looked like the whole situation was quite unexpected to him. "…How did you find out?" He asked intrigued, while he removed his suit's jacket and placed it on the back of one of the dining chairs. He couldn't seem to be able to take his eyes off the cake.

"Oh, your assistance mentioned it this morning while he was here... I cooked yakisoba for dinner too. I hope you're hung-"

Akihito didn't finish his sentence though, because the weirdest thing happened at that moment...

Asami smiled.

Sure, it was probably an unconscious thing on his part (Asami was not the type of person to openly display his excitement after all), and probably few people besides Akihito would even qualify it as a smile, but knowing Asami as he did, Akihito new that that was about as open as Asami would get, and for some reason that ended up making him want to smile as well.

"Huh, the bath water is ready in case you want to shower before dinner. But hurry up, otherwise I'll have to re-heat the food."

Asami looked back at him, as if he was about to say something, but for the first time since the both of them had met, the older man seemed to be at a loss for words. So instead he just kept looking at Akihito in silence, that same half-grin, half-smile visible on his lips.

Feeling oddly self-aware of his attention, Akihito nevertheless took the opportunity to push Asami towards the bathroom. "Come on, hurry up. I'll get the drinks ready while you're in the shower."

As soon as he heard the shower running, Akihito rushed to the kitchen to prepare the cocktails which recipes he had downloaded from the Internet earlier on.

He managed to spill the contents of the shaker twice before having enough to fill two cocktail glasses, but eventually he got there.

After taking the drinks to the living room, he crossed over to the couch, pulling out his present for Asami from its hideout, and placed it on top of the table, beside the cocktails.

As he heard Asami turn off the shower head in the bathroom, he picked up his suit jacket from the chair, and ended up noticing something else placed on the chair's seat.

A little blue Emporio Armani carry-on bag decorated with a bow.

Akihito found himself frowning. "...He probably got it as a present from someone… I wonder who..." He whispered to himself, as he eyed the expensive brand name, before turning his gaze back to the present he'd paced on top of the table.

Suddenly the wrapping paper and bow didn't look to him that fancy anymore. "There's no way I could ever compete with Armani." He sighed quietly, feeling all of a sudden embarrassed by his present.

He didn't have much time to brood over it though, as the bathroom's door clicked open and he heard Asami's footsteps approaching from the hall.

Unable to do much else, Akihito threw the jacket back on the chair and picked up his present hiding it behind his back. He had to find a way to discard it quickly.

He figured he was probably showing some kind of guilty expression, because as soon as Asami appeared on the living room's door frame, still drying out his damp hair with a towel, he frowned. "What's the matter?" He asked Akihito.

He had put on some workout pants and a dark tank top which showed off the muscles on his arms quite brilliantly. Akihito had to tell his brain to focus.

"N-Nothing." He replied, in what sounded even to him, a poor convincing tone.

Before Asami had a chance to ask him anything else, Akihito blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "So did you get any expensive gifts today?" He asked, though he regretted it two seconds later. "Bad topic..." He mentally kicked himself.

Asami was no idiot and quickly figured he must have seen the bag placed on top of the chair. "If you're referring to the carry-on bag, that's just something I got from one of my employees." He said, brushing it off as unimportant.

"From an employee? !" Akihito eyed the bag surprised by the answer. How much was Asami paying his employees these days?

The older man was able to read the question on his face. "Ok, not a standard employee, I suppose. It's from the manager of one of my nightclubs. Dracaena." He said, still not attributing much thought to it.

As soon as the club's name reached Akihito's ears, he froze though. Club Dracaena's manager? That could only mean... "Sudou..." Akihito whispered, suddenly feeling even more gloom. "Must be a nice gift." He said out loud, not even realizing it.

Asami stopped drying out his hair, placing the towel over his shoulders. "…It's just a watch. You can open the bag to check it if you want." He said, narrowing his eyes at Akihito who still had his gaze fixed on the bag.

"What are you hiding behind your back?" Asami asked all of a sudden, making Akihito nearly jump up in the air in fright.

"Nothing." The younger man replied a little too quickly, which only succeeded in increasing Asami's suspicions.

"Takaba..." Asami said in a warning tone, as he slowly made his way towards Akihito.

"I told you… it's _nothing_." The younger man replied, taking a few steps back; nearly tripping on the living room's rug.

"Well, if it is _nothing_ as you claim, then there is no problem in showing it to me, is there?"

"You can't... I-It's mine."

"Great! And since _you_ are _mine_, that means that all you own is also mine. So there is no point in offering resistance." He said, trapping Akihito between his arms against a wall.

Akihito held his stance though, his hands holding on to the present behind his back, away from Asami's view. "I really hate you sometimes..." He said, turning his gaze away from him out of spite, as he heard the other man laugh.

Asami's hand cupped Akihito's chin, gently turning it so that he would face him again.

"I don't doubt that you do." He said, before leaning down, capturing Akihito's lips with his own.

The younger man tried to convince his brain that Asami 's kisses weren't enjoyable at all, but lost the battle as soon as the other man moved lower, kissing a particular sensitive spot on his neck. The moment Akihito relaxed against him, he knew he'd made a terrible mistake...

Two seconds later, he felt Asami's arm snake around his back, yanking the package away from him in one swift movement.

The victory grin plastered on the older man's face as he took a few steps back from Akihito afterwards, made him curse under his breath.

"…Huh? It's a present." Asami said, seemingly surprised as he finally looked at the article in his hands.

He looked back at Akihito, in time to see his cheeks start to turn red.

"No kidding..." The younger man retorted ironically, averting his gaze from him again.

Asami noticed Akihito's blush deepening before turning his attention back to the package. "…Is this for me?"

Akihito didn't answer him though. Instead he stretched his arm on Asami's direction, still refusing to look at him. "Give it back."

Asami frowned. "Why? It's for me, isn't it?

"It's stupid. I don't know what I was thinking. I doubt you'll like it, so give it back."

"No."

"Asami! Give it back."

"No."

"You have no right to-"

Asami was untying the bow before he'd finished speaking, purposely ignoring him.

"Fine! I'm going to my room. Enjoy your birthday cake _alone_." Akihito said, stomping away from him in rage.

"_My _room, you mean." Asami corrected him amused.

"WHATEVER!" Akihito yelled back, slamming the door of his bedroom shut and throwing himself on the bed.

"Why do I even bother?" He said out loud, thinking of all the hard work he'd had that day, preparing the surprise dinner for Asami.

It wasn't long until he heard the bedroom's door click open though, but before Asami got a chance to get inside the room, Akihito rolled in bed so that his back would face him and covered his head with a pillow to hide it from view.

"Takaba..." He heard Asami say, his voice deprived of its earlier authoritative tone.

Still, he chose not to move.

"Go away, I want to sleep..."

His demand didn't work though, because Asami did the exact opposite; he walked over to Akihito's bed sitting down next to him and placed an arm on each side of his body.

"Akihito..." Asami tried again, making the younger man squeeze the pillow tighter against his ear.

He heard Asami sigh quietly after a while. "…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Hidden under the pillow, Akihito's eyes widened in disbelief. Did the great Asami Ryuuichi just apologize to him?

Unaware of the effect that his words had produced, Asami continued. "…I wasn't expecting the surprise, to be honest. It caught me off guard… But I liked it. The present, I mean…And the cake… and dinner." He pulled a hand through his hair. He wondered why he was finding it so hard to speak his mind. "Yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is… hum… Thank you."

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then Akihito pulled the pillow slowly downwards until his eyes became visible to Asami.

"Say it again." He asked quietly.

Asami frowned. "Say what again?"

"Say that you're sorry again. Say 'I, the great Asami Ryuuichi, hereby admit that I acted like an asshole tonight and that I'm sorry for upsetting the hardworking and good natured Takaba Akihito'. And wait, let me get my cellphone. I want to record it." He made a move to grab his phone from the nightstand, but Asami ended up grabbing his wrist first.

In no time he had Akihito pinned under him in bed, holding both Akihito's wrists in a tight grip above his head.

"How about I say this instead then…" Asami said with a mischievous grin, as Akihito hopelessly tried to free himself. "I, the great Asami Ryuuichi, hereby pardon Takaba Akihito's latest insolent words, on account of receiving from him a very appetizing second birthday present."

Akihito narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. "…What are you talking about? What second birthday present? !"

Asami's grin grew wider. "…_You_, of course." He said, bending down to kiss Akihito before he got a chance to protest.

Though Akihito still tried to fight him back, his body was quick to betray him, and as he felt Asami's free hand start to roam his body, a balmy rush bloomed out all over his skin.

He felt himself arch against Asami; his body clearly showing its approval and encouragement to the other man's touch.

By the time Asami released his wrists, Akihito's mind was already too foggy with desire to keep putting on a fight.

The last coherent thought he remembered having that night was that being Asami's birthday present was maybe not that bad at all…

* * *

Next one-shot: 90% done.


	2. II

**A/N:** Thank you very much for your reviews/favs. Glad you enjoyed reading the previous one-shot :)

I got the idea for this next one-shot from the cover Yamane Ayano did for the first chapter of the "Pray in the Abyss" story arc. Eye-candy cover FTW! ! ;))

Hope you enjoy reading!

**II.**

* * *

Sweat drops still glistened on his naked skin as he lay awake in bed, resting his head on Asami's chest.

Outside the floor to ceiling windows that framed an entire wall of the bedroom, the city kept itself busy, paying little attention to the moonlight shining down on it.

Akihito let his eyes roam the scenery in silence, enjoying the feel of Asami's fingers slowly travelling up and down the back of his neck.

He felt as if his heart hadn't yet fully recovered from the last exertion he'd been put through, still beating faster than normal, and couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his lips as he sensed Asami's heart, close to his ear, beating in much the same way.

A part of Akihito was telling him he should start thinking of changing positions; his body weight no doubt getting uncomfortable for Asami, but he wasn't yet ready to renounce to the other man's touch.

As if acknowledging his decision, Asami's fingers travelled lower, towards his back, lightly tracing the line of his spine above the skin.

The movement ended up causing him to shiver involuntarily.

"Are you cold?" Asami asked; his voice low. He sounded as if he was about to drift off to sleep.

"Not really… I-I should go back to my bedroom…" Akihito said, albeit reluctantly, making a move to get out of bed.

Before he could manage to succeed though, he felt Asami's arm circling his waist, pulling him back against his torso.

"You can sleep here. It's fine." The older man mumbled with his eyes closed.

"…Yeah _right_, so you can wake up horny in the middle of the night and attack me again… You wish!" Akihito thought.

"Asami… Come on, let me go." He said, trying to free himself from the tight embrace. "…Asami!"

He placed both hands on the mattress beside the other man's body and used his entire strength to lift himself up, but just when he thought he'd managed to break through the grip, Asami, suddenly fully alert, rolled them both in bed so that he ended up on top of Akihito.

There was no way the younger man could get away from him now.

"You're pretty fiery all of a sudden." Asami noted, as he looked down at him. "What's the matter?"

"You're being annoying... Let-Me-Go!" Akihito said between clenched teeth, in what he hoped was a threatening tone, though his 'threat' only succeeded in making the other man chuckle.

"Don't-Want-To." Was Asami's reply.

He lowered his head intent on kissing Akihito, but at the last second, the younger man turned his face away from him.

"Oi, let me kiss you!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll want to do _it_ again…" Akihito said in a low voice, feeling his cheeks unexpectedly warm.

Asami laughed. "So what?" He asked. "We've only done it twice tonight…"

Akihito felt like rolling his eyes at him. "I have to get up early in the morning. Besides, weren't you about to fall asleep anyway?" He asked, noticing Asami suppress a yawn.

"Not really." The other man retorted. "I was just recharging for a bit." He added with a grin, before bending down again to kiss Akihito's neck.

"Asami… stop it! I'm serious." The younger man said, feeling his body annoyingly start to react to the touch.

"Why?... You like it."

Which was technically true,… although Akihito would never give Asami the satisfaction of hearing him say it directly.

"I do not!" He replied instead, as convincingly as he could muster.

He felt more than heard Asami's chuckle against his collarbone.

"Liar..." The older man said, making him groan in annoyance.

"Why are you always like this?" He asked, placing his hands on Asami's shoulders; trying to push him away. "You always think you can do whatever you want, whenever you want it, without paying any attention to other people's opinions. I'm not your toy, Asami! You can't do whatever you feel like with me..."

He kept waiting for Asami to cut him off with some sort of defiant remark; something along the lines of Akihito belonging to him and therefore not having any say on the matter, but nothing came about. Instead, Akihito was greeted with a shallow snoring sound that echoed through the silent room.

"Asami? !" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side only to find that the older man seemed to had fallen into deep sleep; his face resting on the mattress right beside his neck.

"Hey, Asami, wake up." Akihito called out, poking him on the back. "Asami!…You're kind of heavy, you know?... Move a little."

Akihito tried to push him off of him, but Asami was just too heavy. "Asami, come on... move, will ya?"

He spent the next five minutes trying to escape from under the other man, but only managed to exhaust his own muscles in the process.

Finally resigned to his situation, Akihito laid back down, trying to accommodate himself in bed as best as he could, before turning his head to look at Asami again.

The older man's hair was scattered over his face, partly covering his eyes; his expression peaceful and relaxed, as if he was having a nice dream.

"You baka..." Akihito whispered, closing his eyes. "...Honestly, of all the people in the world I could have fallen for… Why did it have to be you?" He mumbled, before falling asleep.

* * *

Asami waited until he felt Akihito's breathing rhythm slow down to open his eyes again, making sure afterwards to move slowly upwards, so as to not wake him up.

Leaning his back against the bed's headboard, he reached out a hand towards the nightstand, grabbing a cigarette from the pack he'd opened earlier that night.

As he lit up the cigarette against his mouth, his eyes fell on Akihito and he couldn't help replaying in his mind the last words he'd heard the younger man say, when Akihito thought he had been asleep.

Asami wasn't stupid of course, and had for some time now suspected that the boy had feelings for him. Although having his suspicions now confirmed didn't manage to ease him at all.

He turned his gaze outside the windows towards the city, as he quietly exhaled a cloud of smoke.

One thing that life had taught him was that he and 'Love' did not go hand in hand, especially because the people who fell in love with him had a knack to end up dead sooner or later.

Which was why Asami didn't allow himself to fall for anyone. He'd suffered enough at the hands of fate as it was.

At least that was what he had convinced himself of, until a certain bratty photographer had decided to cross paths with him.

All of a sudden Asami found his convictions being put to the test, as Akihito started to delve deeper into his life and world, and the funny thing to Asami was that at some point he realized he'd stopped caring that the protective barrier he'd built around his feelings was slowly crumbling down.

"Damn it!" He found himself cursing out loud to no one in particular.

Sometimes he didn't recognize himself anymore. His priorities were beginning to get messed up.

The one thing he was sure about was that he didn't want Akihito involved in his lifestyle. He knew for sure that would end up causing the younger man's demise.

But still Asami couldn't find it in him to let go of him.

The clock was ticking and he knew that soon he would have to make a decision. Things couldn't keep going on as they were for much longer.

Letting out a tired sigh, Asami leaned his head against the top of the bed's headboard, fixing his gaze on the ceiling.

As if guessing he was the subject of Asami's thoughts, Akihito suddenly shuffled closer to him in his sleep, carelessly throwing an arm around his upper legs.

Asami eyed his sleeping form in silence for a few moments, before slowly placing a hand on his head.

He had to get Akihito out of his world. Fast.

* * *

Damn open endings! lol But fear not, this one-shot will eventually tie out with another one-shot that will be posted in the future ;)


	3. III

**A/N:** I blame the randomness of this tiny oneshot on the fact that my brain has turned into mush due to the heat wave that has been hitting my hometown. To that and to the fact that my mind will gladly take just about any excuse to imagine Asami without his clothes on lol (I'm sure I'm not the only one though)

Happy readings! :)

**III**

* * *

Akihito eyed the thermostat on the air conditioning machine, hoping the sucker would budge from the infernal 38 degrees Celsius it had been displaying all afternoon.

No such luck though. The damn contraption seemed to had died down for good this time, and even though the repair technician had been working on it for the last two hours, Akihito wasn't convinced there would be a happy ending to his dilemma that day.

It had to be the strike of bad luck of the century that the stupid machine had decided to break down precisely on the hottest day of summer, turning Asami's condo into a 400 hundred square meter oven.

Akihito grimaced uncomfortably, taking another sip of water from the plastic bottle he'd taken from the fridge (he's fourth in the last 2 hours). It was so hot inside the apartment he was convinced he could fry eggs on the floor already.

He could already feel sweat drops trickling down his back, and his hair was beginning to cling to his forehead and the sides of his face, but he wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the heat.

Yamada-san, the building's concierge, whom Akihito had called up when the air conditioning machine started to act up that afternoon, and who had brought the repair technician with him, seemed close to fainting himself.

Of course it didn't help that the man was fully dressed in a business suit and even though Akihito knew better than to suggest to the man to drop his jacket and loosen his tie, just looking at him wasting away under the unbearable heat was making Akihito sweat even more.

He was about to offer the man a bottle of fresh water, when the machine suddenly sprung back to life with a loud crackling sound,... just before it died down for good, amidst the grunts of the technician.

Before neither Akihito nor the concierge were able to understand what had happened, the technician threw his tools back in his tool box, getting up from the floor in front of the machine with a disheartened look.

"Forget it. The fuses are all screwed up. It's never gonna work again unless they're all switched for new ones." He said apologetically.

Akihito felt like the temperature in the room had suddenly increased by 5 degrees. "You're kidding... B-But you can get new fuses, right?"

The technician smiled nervously at him. It was Yamada-san who answered though.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible anytime soon. You see, Asami-sama had the machine imported directly from Europe. This model isn't sold in Japan. We'll have to request for the new parts to be shipped from Europe as well."

"_Whaaa_...? That bastard Asami!"

By 10 pm that night Akihito had already taken three showers and drenched his hair under the bathroom's faucet twice.

His attempts to cool himself down were pretty pointless though. Ten minutes after he'd step out from under the water, he'd invariably find himself dried and sweating.

By 11 pm his supply of water bottles ran out.

On a whim Akihito turned towards Asami's liquor cabinet. He was quick to spot the golden bottles containing the expensive dark beer that Asami was known to import from abroad and was even quicker in emptying the contents of three of them.

Their refreshing effects didn't last long.

By midnight he was turning in bed unable to sleep while cursing out loud against the air conditioning machine's manufacturer, which name he couldn't even pronounce properly.

By 12:30 am he had stripped down to his boxers but was already convinced there wasn't a chance in hell that he'd be able to sleep indoors that night, and by 1 am he finally decided to drag his futon to the balcony just outside the living room.

In Akihito's view, if he was to die from heat consumption that night he might as well let mother nature be the one to kill him, and not a failed machine.

At around 2 am he thought he'd heard someone moving inside the apartment, although by then Akihito was convinced that the heat was messing with his senses.

It was only when the living room's lights were suddenly switched on, illuminating part of the futon, that he convinced himself that he wasn't alone anymore... Asami had returned home for the day.

Nevertheless, Akihito closed his eyes against the intruding brightness and rolled onto his side, so that his back faced the balcony's entrance.

He didn't call out to Asami, nor made the slightest effort to announce his presence to the older man (he was far too numbed out from the heat to make the effort), so he just laid there, listening to the sound of Asami's steady footsteps going around the apartment.

It wasn't long before he felt the older man's presence near him though.

"Well, well. Here's a nice view to come home to." Asami said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "What's the matter Akihito? Did you miss me that much that you couldn't take it anymore and had to strip down for me in anticipation?"

Akihito grumbled under his breath, turning on his back so he could look at him. "Ha, ha, very funny. The air conditioning machine is broken."

Asami's eyes nevertheless continued to travel up and down his naked body. "...So I've heard." He said, alluding to a phone call he'd received earlier from Yamada-san.

Akihito narrowed his eyes at him unamused. "You do realize that Japan sells pretty good air conditioning machines. Why the hell did you have to buy one from Europe?"

"I have expensive tastes... So are you planning to sleep here tonight?"

Akihito yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "Yep, I am."

Asami arched an eyebrow at him in response.

"As amazing as it may sound to you, I don't find the idea of being slowly cooked while I'm sleeping all that appealing. Which is what will happen if I sleep inside _that_ oven." Akihito said flatly, while pointing towards the apartment.

"It's not _that_ bad..."

"Oh really? Good luck to you then. Good night!" Akihito said, rolling over to his side again so that his back faced Asami.

He heard the older man chuckle under his breath before he too turned around and walked inside the apartment.

Soon after Akihito heard the sound of the shower being turned on. He figured he must had dozed off in the meantime because when he opened his eyes again, the living room's clock showed it was 30 minutes later.

It took him a few moments to realize that he wasn't alone in the balcony though. As he fully regained back his consciousness he noticed someone approaching the futon dragging his steps.

Asami's figure slowly materialized beside him.

Under the moonlight it was easy for Akihito to view the tiny sweat drops marring the skin on his naked torso and arms. His legs were covered by loose pajama pants and he was carrying his pillow under one of his arms.

The younger man rubbed his eyes while yawning, wondering if he was still sleeping.

"Move over." Asami finally said, in a tired voice.

Akihito couldn't help but grin at the other's disheveled look, as he slumped down beside him in the futon.

He must had sensed that Akihito was about to speak, because he quickly interjected. "And don't say _'I told you so'_..."

For 5 minutes they both remained silent trying to adjust to the temperature outside until Asami suddenly cursed out loud kicking himself free of his pajamas pants. "This is _hell_..."

"You should have bought a house with a pool. If you'd had we wouldn't be like this at the moment."

"Why don't you buy a house with a pool, you brat?"

"I will... Once I become a famous photographer, you'll see. I'll buy a house with a pool the size of your condo."

Asami couldn't help but chuckle at him. "Famous photographer, huh? I've been hearing that one for a couple of years now." He said, turning to his side, which caused his arm to brush against Akihito's."

"Yuck, Asami! Don't touch me. You're all sweaty."

"What's up with you? You usually like it when I'm sweaty..." The older man said with a grin, making Akihito roll his eyes at him.

"Perv."

Asami laughed. "How about this..." He said. "I don't have a pool, but I do have a decently sized tub in the master bathroom. Care to join me for a cool bath?"

Akihito eyed him, clearly suspicious of the invitation. "The tub is not big enough for the both of us."

"It is if you sit on my lap..."

"I knew it. You freakin' perv!" Akihito grumbled, turning his back on him as a response.

Asami shrugged, slowly getting up from the futon. "Fine, have it your way, Akihito. Melt away in this heat. I'm hitting the tub."

The younger man turned on his other side in time to see Asami disappear behind the living room's entrance, his toned back muscles flexing as the older man stretched his arms in front of him.

Damn, Asami had a nice body!

Akihito's stubbornness ended up lasting for only two minutes. By the time he heard the water being turned on in the master bathroom, he was all but running towards it.

He figured that if things got spiced up between them (which undoubtably they would!), he could blame any horny behaviour on his part on the heat.


	4. IV

**A/N:** Thank you for your reviews and interest in the one-shots. I really enjoy reading your feedback regarding them. I have a lot of fun writing these small stories so it's always a plus to know that other people enjoy reading them to :)

Just a little side note: I don't think that in the manga any of Akihito's friends actually have kids, but in this one-shot I gave Takato a kid ha ha Hurray for fan fiction!

Happy readings :)

**IV.**

* * *

**Tuesday**

Takato wheeled the stroller into the living room, stopping it next to the toy and clothing bags he'd already brought into the room.

He quickly ran his eyes over the mountain of baby paraphernalia in front of him, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

"Ok, so the baby food is in the duffel bag. There's enough of it to last for a week, so you don't have to worry about buying anything." He told the young man holding his 1 year old son in his arms.

"I also brought all his favorite toys. Mind you, he does tend to get a bit cranky when he's hungry sometimes, but if that happens just pick him up and walk around with him for a while. That's usually enough to calm him down. _So_…" He said, making a final checkup of the items he'd brought. "…I think that's that. Are you _really_ sure you don't mind babysitting him?"

"Of course not. Relax, Takato. Everything will work out fine. Ryo here and I will get along just great." Akihito assured him, while making funny faces at the toddler who was giggling in return. "It's just for five days anyway."

Takato sighed in relief. "Thanks for doing this Aki. You're a life saver! When Ryo's babysitter called in sick at the last minute, my girlfriend and I panicked. We really can't miss this trip and we can't bring Ryo with us. They don't allow children where we'll be staying. But I'll make it up to you somehow."

"Don't mention it. What are friends for anyway? Besides, I'm pretty good with kids." The photographer said, tickling Ryo's nose.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I immediately thought of you. But hey, what about that Asami guy you live with?" Takato asked, suddenly remembering Akihito's scary looking roommate. "Won't he mind having the baby around? He doesn't look like he's used to being around kids…"

"Oh, don't worry about him. Asami-san is abroad on business and won't be back for several days, so it actually turns out ok. Myself and Ryo have the coolest condo in Tokyo all to ourselves. We can build an amusement park in the living room with his toys. It will be epic!"

**Tuesday (evening)**

It turned out to be epic, alright! But not in the way that Akihito had expected it…

Five hours into his babysitting gig, and Asami's living room was already unrecognizable.

There was baby stuff scattered all over the place, but it was not like Akihito had the time to worry about it.

Ryo demanded permanent attention. If he sensed that Akihito was not paying enough attention to him he would invariably start crying, and what a set of lungs the kid had! Akihito was sure the neighbors had already detected the presence of an infant guest in the building thanks to it.

The young man had spent the afternoon running back and forth the apartment, preparing the kid's food or fetching his toys, trying as best as he could to make the kid as comfortable as possible in his new surroundings, but he had to admit it was a tough job.

He had just finished preparing a new baby's bottle and was carrying it to the living room where he'd left Ryo playing with his toys, when he heard the front door opening and closing with a soft click.

He turned towards the hallway, alarmed by the sound and nearly yelped in surprise when he saw Asami in front of him, wheeling his travel suitcase behind him and sporting an air of someone who had spent far too many hours cooped up inside an airplane.

"What the hell are you doing here? !" Akihito asked, before he could stop himself.

His tone made Asami immediately frown. "Hello to you too... What do you mean exactly? 'Here' as in Japan, or 'here' as in _my_ house." He asked sarcastically.

"W-Why are you back so soon?" The younger man rephrased the question, trying to sound more casual.

"I was able to close the deals sooner than I thought." The other man replied, suddenly noticing Akihito's alarmed expression. "What are you up to?" He demanded to know, narrowing his eyes at him, before noticing the foreign object Akihito was holding.

"Is that a baby bottle in your hand?"

"H-Huh… Well…"

As if on cue, Ryo decided to announce his presence, making use of his healthy lungs by crying out loud for his food.

Asami listened to it as if he was witnessing an alien transmission from outer space.

He quickly turned to Akihito, clearly demanding a very good explanation.

"One of my best friends asked me to babysit his son. It was a totally last minute thing." He quickly said. "I promise I'll take care of everything. You won't have to do a thing! I'll make it so you don't even notice the baby's presence for the next five days."

"_Five days_? !"

"Believe me, Asami. Time will fly by in a hurry. He'll be gone before you know it! And I mean… he's just a toddler. What could possibly go wrong?"

**Wednesday**

Asami knew something terribly wrong had happened the moment he stepped inside his apartment and saw Akihito prostrated on the floor in front of him as if begging for his mercy.

He sighed tiredly, trying not to think of the type of destruction that had most likely befallen over his property, courtesy no doubt of the toddler that had barged into his quiet home life.

"Welcome home, Asami-sama." He heard Akihito greet him, in a most respectful way. "How was your day, Asami-sama? I hope it was a joyful one and that you carry that joy with you still."

Asami grimaced. That greeting had been a little _too_ polite…

"Alright, what did he do?" The older man asked, trying to make his voice seem calm.

Akihito laughed nervously, slowly getting up on his feet.

At least the younger man seemed like he wasn't going to try to hide whatever happened, which for a terrifying moment made Asami think that perhaps whatever had happened had been far too big to be hidden anyway.

"W-Well, d-do you know that weird-looking painting you hadn't put up yet in the living room wall…"

Asami felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. "No!…"

"W-Well…"

He walked past Akihito without another word, all but running towards the living room while his mind went through about a dozen catastrophic scenarios.

Not the Kandinsky. Not the Kandinsky. Not the one of a kind Kandinsky painting he'd bought from a Guggenheim auction just two weeks before…

As soon as he walked inside the living room, his eyes fell on the painting still leaning against one of the walls.

He had to use all of his self-control not to translate into words the not so polite thoughts that went through his head at that moment.

Well, the Kandinsky colors and lines were still there, but so was a multitude of foreign shapes made with colored crayons.

Asami turned around to face Akihito, who had followed him close behind, trying to control his breathing.

If Asami had been able to breathe fire through his nostrils, he was sure that by then he would have resembled a dragon.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm so, _soooo_ sorry. I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. I was showing Ryo how to color a picture book when the phone rang. He must have crawled to the painting while I went out the room to answer it. I was gone for only two minutes." Akihito apologized fervently. "I-I will pay you back for the painting. I promise."

Asami suppressed the urge to laugh. "Pay me back for _that_ painting? How?"

The younger man tilted his head sideways, as if not understanding his reaction. "I mean… Look at it. It's just random blobs of paint. It can't have been that expensive…"

"Do you even know how much an original Kandinsky is worth?"

Akihito smiled nervously. "…A few thousand yen?" He ventured.

"Akihito…" Asami said, trying not to clench his teeth in rage. "…a few thousand yen wouldn't have gotten you a _ticket_ to the Guggenheim auction where I bought that painting…"

"_Oh_, I see… What's a Guggenheim?"

Asami slapped his palm against his forehead. Something told him that the next four days were going to be _veeery_ long…

**Thursday**

It were the baby's cries that woke him up.

Before he even managed to open his eyes, Asami was already grunting. He really hated kids!

He quickly threw the sheets away from his body, getting up on his feet and marching out of his bedroom towards the living room, where the offensive sound was coming from.

The second he crossed the living room's threshold, he spotted Akihito holding the crying baby in his arms; trying to calm him down with one of his plush toys.

When their eyes met, Akihito was all apologies.

"I'm sorry. Did he wake you up? He's kind of cranky this morning." He explained, amidst a new wave of baby shrieks.

The older man huffed impatiently. "Is there _any_ way to make the kid shu-"

"Asami, look out!"

Too late… The warning had barely registered with Asami when he felt his foot step on one of the kid's toy cars making him immediately lose his balance and fall nonchalantly on his back on the floor.

It wasn't the pain he felt shooting through his ankle that bruised his ego though.

It was the fact that all of a sudden the baby stopped crying altogether, and instead started having a giggle fit at his expense.

**Friday**

Asami made his way carefully towards the kitchen, making sure he saw where he placed each foot.

He had twisted his ankle the day before, courtesy of his unexpected encounter with the toy car and was in no mood for any further toy related injuries, thank you very much.

As he reached the kitchen's doorway, he noticed the unusual silence that had fallen over the apartment and trained his ears to track down any baby sounds in the premises. A habit he'd unconsciously picked up over the past few days.

"You can relax. He's sleeping." He heard Akihito say from inside the kitchen, as the young man pointed to the baby intercom device he'd placed in the kitchen counter next to him. "I placed him down to sleep while you were in the shower."

Asami leaned against the kitchen's door frame, silently watching the younger man go about in the kitchen preparing dinner.

He had to admit he was surprised that Akihito was doing such a great job with the infant (…artwork incident apart!). It was almost as if the photographer could guess Ryo's needs in advance, therefore avoiding many crankiness attacks.

Not to mention that he was always game for a play date with the kid. He seemed to get a genuine kick out of making Ryo giggle and was always coming up with new ways of keeping him entertained.

Yeah, Akihito seemed to be a natural. Which was surprising since Asami knew that he was an only child and wasn't that accustomed to being around kids very often.

Not that the babysitting job wasn't wearing down the young photographer.

Running around Ryo all day, while trying to keep the kid from tearing his house apart was definitely starting to take a toll on Akihito.

Since joining him in the kitchen, Asami had already seen the young man yawn twice and let his eyes close for more than just a few seconds at a time… not the wisest action when one is cutting vegetables with a sharp knife.

Moving towards his side, Asami took the knife away from Akihito, who nonetheless shot him a confused look.

"I'll deal with the vegetables this time." The older man said. "You can go check on the stew."

"T-Thanks." Akihito mumbled back, suppressing another yawn.

He picked up a wooden spoon, using it to mix the stew cooking over the stove, before bringing it to his lips to taste the seasoning.

"Hmm… Nice." He said, clearly proud of his cooking skills.

Beside him, Asami chuckled.

"_What_?"

"You have stew sauce on your chin."

"Oh!" Akihito exclaimed, quickly looking around him. "Where did I put the towel?"

"Here. Let me." Asami said, cupping his face with his hand and tilting it upwards.

Before Akihito could do anything to prevent it, he felt the older man's tongue lightly brush his chin, just below his lips.

"...You're right. It tastes nice." Asami said a few moments later, licking his lips.

The younger man felt himself blush unexpectedly…which was probably what ended up causing what happened next.

The older man stared at his flushed cheeks in silence, a strange gleam clouding his eyes, before he suddenly pulled Akihito against him, slamming his lips against the younger man's.

Though surprised by the action, Akihito still had the presence of mind to try to make him stop. "A-Asami…_No_. The kid…" He mumbled against his lips.

"The pesky kid is sleeping on the other side of the apartment. He's not going to hear anything." The older man said, as his hands started to roam Akihito's body.

"Pesky? He's not pesky. What do you have against kids anyway? You've been in a foul mood all week because of Ryo." Akihito asked, feeling himself arch involuntarily against the other man.

Asami shrugged. "I have nothing against kids. I just happen to be aware they are all smelly, annoying creatures that don't do anything but get in the way of grown-ups' lives."

"That's silly. Ryo isn't getting in anyone's way."

"Yes, he is. He's getting in _my_ way. He's taking _you_ away from me. Now shut up and let me kiss you."

Akihito felt his legs tremble as Asami deepened the kiss, the older man's tongue brushing his lips eagerly before he granted him access in.

His hands were all over the young man's chest, leaving a fiery trail wherever they touched.

Akihito was more than ready to fully submit to his advances, but the moment he felt Asami's hand pass beneath the waistband of his shorts, the kitchen was invaded by a series of shallow cries, making them both break the kiss at the same time and look around confused.

It didn't take long for them to lay their eyes on the baby intercom device that had suddenly sprung to life on top of the counter.

"It's Ryo... I better go check on him." Akihito said, still flushed. "S-Sorry." He added apologetically to Asami before leaving the kitchen in a hurry.

The older man cursed under his breath, looking down at the bulge that in the meantime had formed in his pants and wondering what the hell was he going to do with it now.

He leaned his forehead against the kitchen's wall, desperately trying to cool himself down.

"Two more days." He thought. Just two more days and the kid would be gone.

Question was: would Asami make it through that long without losing his mind.

**Saturday**

Akihito was pooped. Ok, 'pooped' didn't even cover half of it. He was close to collapsing from exhaustion.

This babysitting gig was murder. He sure had new found respect for professional nanny's and babysitters all over the world. He didn't know how they managed to do their job day after day, after day.

4 days with Ryo had pretty much robbed Akihito of every ounce of energy he had, and Ryo wasn't even a tough kid to handle! He just had _so_ much energy that it was tough to keep up with him.

Good thing he would be going home the next day, otherwise Akihito would have to call Takato to come pick up his son sooner. He just couldn't handle it anymore.

Taking advantage of the fact that Ryo was taking his afternoon nap, Akihito let himself fall backwards on the living room's sofa, eyeing the mess the room had become.

There were toys scattered everywhere and Ryo's artistic work with the crayons hadn't unfortunately limited itself to the fancy painting he'd ruined. There were now crayon drawings on at least two of the walls…

Akihito found himself wondering why Asami hadn't thrown a fit over it yet. Well, maybe it was due to the fact that he had pretty much avoided coming into the room now, probably afraid he'd trip on one of the toys again and break a leg this time.

As if on cue, he heard the other man's steps approach him and soon enough Asami's face appeared over him on the sofa.

"Tired?" Asami asked with an amused grin, though the question was probably rhetorical. One look at Akihito and anyone could tell the adjective fit him like a glove.

The young man nevertheless nodded in agreement, too exhausted to speak up.

"Is the kid sleeping?"

Another tired nod. Akihito's eyes felt so heavy he was having trouble focusing his eyesight properly.

"Why don't you sleep for a while too then?"

"I can't… I… have to get Ryo's… bottle ready." He mumbled, drifting off to sleep, despite himself. "He's always hungry when he wakes up… he can wake up…at…he can wake up at any mom-…."

* * *

The sun was already setting when Akihito opened his eyes again, jolting upright on the sofa as he was hit by a wave of panic.

"Shit, I fell asleep!" He realized, quickly getting up on his feet and sprinting towards his room, where he'd left Ryo napping.

"Oh man, I can't believe I let this happened! Ryo probably woke up hours ago." He thought, trying to pick up the baby's voice.

He was a few feet away from his bedroom's half-opened door, when he suddenly heard Ryo's giggles.

The unexpected sound made him slow down his pace, approaching the door with caution.

As soon as Akihito peeked inside the room, he had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't still dreaming.

Because either his eyes were seriously playing tricks on him, or a miracle was unfolding right in front of the young man.

Holding baby Ryo in his arms was none other than self-proclaimed child hater Asami Ryuuichi, who momentarily forgetful of his aversion to toddlers, picked up a baby bottle from the dresser and carefully gave it to the baby for him to drink from.

Akihito remained concealed by the half-opened door, watching the scene in awe.

At first you could tell that Asami was really focusing on the task, the lines in his forehead clearly noticeable as if he was deeply concentrated, but as the baby clang to the bottle more than happy for the meal, he slowly relaxed, walking along with the baby back and forth inside the room, until the strangest thing happened.

Asami smiled.

Not grinned, or smirked, but smiled. A genuine, rare Asami smile that made Akihito smile too in return.

For a few moments, watching the scene in front of him, the young man forgot all about the hardships he'd gone through babysitting Ryo over the past few days… and found himself secretly wishing that the baby could stay with them for a while longer.

**Sunday**

"Thank you so very much for your help." Takato and his girlfriend said for the hundredth time over the past fifteen minutes.

They were in the hallway of Asami's condo, having already carried down to their car all of their son's belongings, and were now taking their leave of Akihito; baby Ryo already in the arms of his mother.

"If you ever need a favor Takaba-kun, please let us know." Kaoru said, clearly thankful.

"That's ok. It was a pleasure taking care of baby Ryo. He's an awesome little man. We had a lot of fun together, didn't we?" He said, ruffling the baby's hair.

"O-Oh and thank you very much to you too." Takato said, suddenly turning towards Asami, who was a few feet behind Akihito, leaning against the hallway's wall with his arms crossed in front him. "We apologize for any trouble our son might have caused you." He finished with a respectful bow, closely followed by his girlfriend.

"Don't mention it." The older man said; his voice though, not exactly an invitation for them to drop the kid around again anytime in the near future.

As soon as his friends left, Akihito leaned his back against the apartment's front door, sighing in relief.

"Oh man, what a week! I think I need to sleep for a year after this. But Ryo sure is a great kid, isn't he?" He asked Asami, who shrugged in response.

"I suppose he's tolerable."

"Oh come on, admit it! Deep down you liked having him around."

Asami snickered. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Well, back to normal I suppose." Akihito said, walking towards the living room where he still had some tidying up to do.

His path was however swiftly blocked by the older man. "And just where do you think _you're_ going?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at the younger man. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you and I have some scores to settle."

"A-Asami?..." Akihito asked confused, feeling the other man's strong arms suddenly snake around his waist.

"If my calculations are correct, you have to pay me back for a damaged painting, an ankle injury and 5 days' worth of no sex…" Asami declared with a mischievous grin, while his hands moved down to grope Akihito's but firmly.

Panic shot through Akihito's veins, as the implications of the other man's words registered with him.

Unfortunately his distressed look only succeeded in further fueling Asami's will. With an effortless movement, he picked up Akihito and carried him to his master bedroom, dropping him on top of the king size bed, before managing to rid themselves of their clothes in a matter of seconds.

And despite the younger man's many protests, Asami made sure that Akihito paid his bill thoroughly all throughout the following days…


End file.
